Garry: January 2018

Rota panorama

I am planning to be more faithful to my blog in 2018. There are always interesting things happening and lessons being learned and I always have the intention, albeit not the follow through. That said, I am now in Rota, Spain where I am doing the same job working with military children and their families. Rota is a very pretty beach town that feels pretty “walking-dead” right now because it is also a tourist town with many empty villas and apartment complexes waiting for the summer holiday onslaught. Good food…lots of fish. It turns out that the local specialties are fried; not really good for cholesterol management I am sure. Tuna is the big fishing industry but I hear that most of the tuna is shipped to Japan. Go figure. The beaches are beautiful and the area of Andalucía is famous for sherry production, Andalucian horses, and cities that are thousands of years old including Rota, Cádiz, Jerez and Sevilla, which I visited this weekend. Also on my agenda are Córdoba and Granada and Morocco. Driving here is more “civilized” than in Sicily and although people definitely drive fast and love to tailgate, it feels pretty safe. I have been practicing speaking Spanish as much as possible and although I am far from fluent, I am able to communicate pretty well. I went to buy a sweatshirt in Seville yesterday because it got cold fast when the sun went down and I did the whole transaction in Spanish, but the man thought I was Italian. Still working on going native wherever I am, and though it is not working, nobody guesses me for an American. When they learn I am American they always enthusiastically welcome me to their country, in English. Spain is no exception! The general goodwill and friendliness of people all over the world is the gift that keeps on giving. That it is, Garry. That it is.

Here are a few pics of Spain…with captions.